


Memories

by SilverDragonMS



Series: LU Creative Train (Extreme Track) [2]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Crying, F/M, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Magic, Sad Ending, please let me know if anything else needs to be tagged
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26641594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverDragonMS/pseuds/SilverDragonMS
Summary: “Do you ever wish that you could just be with them?”Four leaned back alongside him, contemplating his words as he stared up at the stars.“Sometimes I wish that I could take their place.”“It’s not a great thing to think about, but,” Legend sighed, slinging his other arm around the smaller hero, “I feel the same. I’d give anything to trade my life for hers.”
Relationships: Legend (Linked Universe)/Marin (Legend of Zelda)
Series: LU Creative Train (Extreme Track) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1938148
Comments: 26
Kudos: 51





	Memories

He can’t remember the last time he’s been this lost in his own mind. He thought that after his last adventure he’d at least put enough distance between himself and the island. But of course, it wouldn’t be that easy. 

Ever since he had heard the stories the others told about their own partners, whether it was present or past, made his heartbeat loudly in his ears, the memory of red hair and a melodious voice reminding him of what could have been. And then there was Malon, the Old Man’s wife who happened to look all too similar to his own lost love. He played it off, trying not to let the fact that her appearance hit just a little too close to home. 

Now she was all he could think about, her radiant smile and the way the sun and ocean breeze would make her all the more beautiful in his eyes. It wasn’t healthy to dwell on these thoughts, this he knew, and yet he couldn’t stop himself. It was only a matter of time until his lack of sleep caught up with him, no matter how much he tried to push on and ignore the problem. However, who noticed first was certainly not who he was expecting.

“Hey, you probably shouldn’t be up this late,” Legend turned to see Four standing nearby, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised, “It’s not your watch, get some rest.”

He huffed out a laugh, quiet to avoid waking up Hyrule, who had cuddled up to him during the night, and with the barest amount of amusement. Four only seemed more worried as Legend met his gaze.

“As tired as I am, I don’t see myself getting any form of rest anytime soon.”

“Nightmares?”

“Of a sort,” Legend shrugged.

“Rupee for your thoughts?”

The veteran rolled his eyes, patting the unoccupied space next to him. The smith took the invitation, settling down next to him and looking at him with undivided attention. After a moment, checking to see that none of the other heroes were listening in on them, Legend sighed and ran a hand through his bangs.

“I just keep thinking about someone that I lost during one of my adventures,” he sees Four stiffen in the corner of his eye, “Malon just reminded me of her, I guess.”

“I can see why,” Four nodded, “You’ve been kind of off ever since we visited last.”

“And here I was thinking that no one would notice,” Legend huffed, shaking his head with a small smile working its way onto his face, “You’re too observant for your own good.”

A quiet moment settled between them, the only sounds being the quiet snores of the heroes and the gentle breeze carrying the calls of nighttime insects and animals. It was peaceful, much unlike the weight of past mistakes filling Legend’s head and disrupting his thoughts. He sighed, leaning back against the tree behind him to gaze at the familiar stars that hung on the dark cover of night. No matter the timeline or era, the stars always seemed to be a constant. That at least helped ground him to the present.

“Do you ever wish that you could just be with them?”

Four leaned back alongside him, contemplating his words as he stared up at the stars. 

“Sometimes I wish that I could take their place.”

“It’s not a great thing to think about, but,” Legend sighed, slinging his other arm around the smaller hero, “I feel the same. I’d give anything to trade my life for hers.”

The silence stretched between them, though it began to feel tenser than it had before.

“This… I don’t know if it’ll help but…”

Legend made a questioning noise, looking to see Four fidgeting with the hem of his tunic, the small hero glancing between his bag at the other side of camp and the veteran himself. He must have looked curious, or at least confused, as after the smith took a deep breath, he pushed Legend’s arm off of his shoulders and got up, grabbing his bag and bringing it back to their spot under the tree.

“I also lost someone on my adventure, they were a friend and they sacrificed themself in order to help me,” he explained as he sat back down and dug through his bag, “Ever since I’ve been trying to find a way to bring them back… I think I found it, but...”

Four trailed off as he withdrew a battered-looking book from the depths of the bag, extra pages stuck in random spots within it with the cover looking close to falling off. 

“The only problem is that it can only be used once,” Four opened up the book, ancient Hylian filling the page, “so if I help you then…”

“You don’t have to do this-”

“I want to though. Besides,” Four smiled sadly, looking back at Legend, “I think they’d understand.”

With that, Four started reading the spell, saying what items they would need and the correct time they could do it. They had until tomorrow night and Legend would do everything he could not to mess up this chance.

* * *

The next morning he woke up feeling more refreshed and awake than he had in weeks. He tried not to let his excitement about the coming night show too much, Four had wanted to keep it a secret after all. Still, he couldn’t help the good mood he was in. Thankfully no one commented on it, though Hyrule seemed to smile at him more.

After a day of traveling to who knows where the group settled down for the night. Wild cooked, stories were shared, everything was so painfully normal and ordinary. No one seemed to bat an eye as Four volunteered for the middle watch, Legend taking the one right afterward. He found that he almost couldn’t contain the giddy excitement he felt, the feeling making it difficult to sleep, and even harder to pretend to sleep. Time seemed to drag on, the sounds of the first watchman making rounds around the camp making Legend feel the ever-growing need to fidget and tap out nervous yet excited energy. 

Then, finally, the second watchman took his place, and Legend listened as the hero did much of the same tasks. He could feel Hyrule shift in his sleep behind him, and internally Legend begged his protege not to cling onto him in his sleep. His silent plea was granted when the younger hero turned his back to him, reaching out to the next closest hero. 

The third watch seemed to stretch on endlessly, though Legend knew it would soon be over. He listened to the quiet footsteps of the new watchman and the slumbering heroes around him. It was peaceful, something he was sure would cause him to fall asleep under normal circumstances. Then, across the camp, he could hear quiet talking and the shuffling of a bedroll. It was Four’s watch.

The smith walked towards him, sitting down near a tree within his sight. A few minutes passed, waiting with bated breath for the previous watchman to fall asleep. Four made eye contact with him, a moment passing between them, and then he nodded a smile breaking out across the smallest hero’s face. Legend practically bolted upright and out of his bedroll, the threat of being discovered by the lighter sleepers being the only thing keeping his movements near silent.

They ventured further into the woods, the glow of the campfire slowly vanishing as they continued. There was no moon to guide their path, though it seemed there was no need for extra light to see by as Four stopped walking. Legend stayed in place, the smaller hero leaving his side to venture further. 

Candlelight startled the veteran hero into taking a step back, Four quietly chuckling. The smith set the candle down, lighting seven more like it in a circle on the bare ground. He drew what looked to be runes in the small space inside the circle of candles, muttering under his breath as he dragged the stick through the motions. After a moment or two, Four turned to him, brows furrowed in thought.

“You’ll need to put something connected to the person you’re trying to bring back in the middle of the circle.”

He nodded, hand already around the small red ocarina he kept securely fastened to his hip. With deft fingers, he unfastened the knots surrounding the small instrument and carefully placed it in Four’s outstretched hand. The other held it with so much care and reverence, as though it were one of the most precious items he had ever held. It was touching in a way, how gently Four set it down in the center of the mass of runes and carefully stood back up. He looked at Legend for a moment, a small smile on his face.

“I’ll start the spell in a moment,” he spoke, Legend moving just a bit closer to the edge, “let’s not tell the others about this though, alright?”

“If this ends up working, we’ll have to explain our new companion somehow.”

Four chuckled, turning back to face the runes.

“I think I’ll leave that up to you to figure out. Now, whatever you do, don’t step into the circle.”

Legend nodded, reluctantly moving a few steps away from the other hero, watching as he started muttering under his breath. The sounds of the forest gradually faded away, the only noise being that of Four’s voice and the steadily growing stronger wind. 

It wrapped around them both, the candleflames getting tossed around in the sudden gale yet still burning bright through it. The runes seemed to glow slightly as the hero continued, a faint purple glow lighting them up brighter and brighter. Then there was a blinding flash of amethyst light, Legend instinctively covering his eyes, and then it was quiet once more.

The veteran rubbed the aftereffects of the sudden glare out of his vision, bright spots still dotting the corners of his eyes, and looked towards where his companion had just been standing. There, in the center of the circle, stood Marin. 

He broke into a run, knocking over a candle in the process, throwing his arms around the one he had thought he lost forever. Tears formed in the edge of eyes as he held her and breathed in the familiar scent of saltwater and sunshine that lingered on her skin. She stood still for a moment, then slowly wrapped her arms around him, sighing in what had to be relieved contentment. 

They held each other, basking in each other’s presence until Legend remembered the one who had made this dream a reality. He mentally smacked himself, turning around with thankfulness on his tongue, only to not see anyone else there.

“Four? Where did you go?”

There was no answer, confusion slowly grew to worry as he started to get the sense that something wasn’t right. Then he heard a gasp, whipping around to find Marin staring at the other side of the circle, eyes filling with tears. A growing unease filled his chest as he walked closer, eyes now trained on the still form lying just outside the ring of candles.

He got closer, taking in the four-colored tunic and unmoving body of his friend. He stooped down, fear and horror at what had happened causing him to shake as he turned Four over. His eyes were closed, expression one of peace as though he had fallen asleep, yet the other’s chest never took in air, his skin was cold and no matter how much he shook the other’s shoulder, he never responded. The spell may have brought back the one he loved, but only for the cost of one that he had begun to consider as family. 

Tears fell down his cheeks, sobs filling the air. The cost had been too great, and he would never forgive himself for sacrificing Four. At least now, he figured the other had gotten his wish as well, to be with the one he had lost during his adventure.

**Author's Note:**

> This was done for the LU Creative Train and I'm so happy to finally post it ^u^ I've been looking forward to this for a long time... And hey, a happy ending for everyone, right? Legend gets his dream girl back, and Four gets to be with Shadow again, everyone is happy


End file.
